Snow Day

And the snow is coming down! Still not complaining but I decided to work from home today. That way I have a window and can watch it snow and drink cocoa. Plus I have a ton of work to do so I can just set up my day and work away without needing to drive anywhere. Added bonus: I'll already be at home when the work is done and can settle in with a book or puzzle. Nope, not going to complain.  

Happy Birthday to Me

This has been a much better day than last year. I miss mom though. But I just got back from a quick road trip to Sedona, AZ and mom would have loved it. Sedona is fun! And so beautiful this time of year. I can’t believe how crowded it was in February, but we were there over a holiday weekend as well. We’ve already decided that it’s a place we’d go back. It was a long drive home but sleeping in my own bed last night made it worth it. 

We came home to snow. Finally snow! The sun was really great, but I’m not going to complain about winter hanging on a bit longer. Spring will come. I’ve been running errands and cleaning out my car. Bought myself clearance Valentine’s flowers. Then went to lunch with my sister and niece which was really nice.  LOL It’s a good day to turn 50. Don’t know how it happened but happy to be here. 

One Year

Hard to believe it’s 1 year since mom died. It’s been eons and the blink of an eye at the same time. We’ve navigated through family dinners, birthdays, holidays, and even vacations without her. When dad died he left a big hole in the family, but he was the guy in the background with the funny sense of humor, especially after his illness started. Mom was the one in the trenches who went everywhere and was always doing things for us. (Not that dad didn’t, but in different ways). Sometimes I just don’t know how to feel. That’s ok, it’s just how life is. So I guess I’ll pass this milestone and keep on going. Not sure I feel like celebrating my birthday, which is fine since I can do it any way I want. Might just sit at home with a book and some cocoa. Maybe a Dr. Pepper. Sounds like a good day to me.  

Micro-Adventures

I was sitting around being lazy this morning when I suddenly decided I needed to get out of the house. So I texted my sister and an hour later we were off for an adventure. My sister has started calling them micro-adventures: small things to enjoy the place we live and support local businesses. We drove to Logan ha ha. Did the usual and had lunch at Great Harvest, stopped by the Book Table and Bluebird and picked up some cheese at Gossners. I didn’t realize it was supposed to snow but it did start to snow on us but we went for a little walk by the Logan river anyway. It was so nice to get out for a bit. The snow wasn’t terrible in the canyon, but the front of the car was coated with it when we finally got home. 

It’s officially birthday shopping month….and I don’t want to buy anything. I don’t need any more books and there’s only a few that I actually want and they aren’t quite published yet. I’m trying to use the perfume I have, and I’ve also been working on producing less waste and looking at the single use plastics I use. Some I’m not giving up, but others I am. Baby steps. 

I don’t feel like I have major depression or anything like that, but this year has been a challenge and I am not excited about much. Add to it that mom’s death anniversary is coming up. Truthfully, I feel that it’s more the external things than grief that is affecting me right now. So still working on figuring out how to deal with that and what things I can actually do. I don’t always get it right but have to keep trying. 

January Blah

This is the time of year where people start getting sick and tired of winter. I feel like we haven’t really had winter since any snow we got was gone the next day. Today the wind has just blown and blown. Wind is the one thing I really don’t care for. I did get out and got my grocery shopping and other errands done. But basically I have felt Blah all day. I’m in between books and don’t want to go shopping. It’s not even the money: I don’t want more stuff in my house. 

So I guess I’ll fall back on the same old and do a puzzle, watch a movie, read a book, drink some cocoa. I mean, I’ve even already exercised today so I can’t even tell myself I should be doing that. Maybe the tv will drown out some of the wind. 

Snow Day!

Almost exactly a year ago I posted a picture of me sitting in my library and when I found myself in the same spot today, I had to take another picture. 

I have been waiting for a wet weekend to do a little shelving project in my library and today we finally got some snow. So I went through a couple shelves and got a stack of books to purge and then rearranged the shelves. Then after lunch I sat down with a mug of cocoa and finished my book. 

I went to my aunt’s funeral yesterday. It’s just that part of life I am in, I guess. My cousin said some really nice things about how lucky we are to have these types of connections that we get to grieve. Not that it’s easy but how wonderful is life because we love people enough to grieve when they are gone.

As for the new year, it came with no fanfare at all. I was only awake because my cough was keeping me up. I didn’t even think of resolutions or new beginnings and I simply don’t care. There is a lot I’m looking forward to, but it’s also just another year gone by and another one starting. 

Best Books of 2024

Wow, 2024 has been a year, and not one that I want to repeat! I think it turned into a year of comfort reading and I like that. Comfort is one of the great things about reading. Looking back at my goals from last year, this year was supposed to be a “free for all” year so I guess I succeeded. I think I had hoped to read a few more of the books I already own and I’m not sure I did that, but whatever. 

I read a respectable 80 books. My top genres are Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Historical Romance, Romantic, and Historical Mystery. Then a tie for 5th place between Contemporary Romance and Nonfiction. I read 9 nonfiction books this year, which is a record for me. And 15 books by Georgette Heyer, which is why historical romance is so high. I definitely found comfort in her books this year. They are just so charming and feel-good. I’m a big fan. Other stats: 68% of the books were paper vs 32% electronic, and 60% were purchased vs 40% borrowed.

So here are my favorites for the year in the order I read them. 

Jane & Edward - Melodie Edwards

This retelling of Jane Eyre really hit the spot.

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands - Heather Fawcett

Emily drives me a little crazy but I found this series this year and really loved it. Bought the first 2 books and am waiting for the final early next year. 

The Talisman Ring - Georgette Heyer

A hilarious farce. Heyer does the comedy of manners so well. 

The Blond Identity - Ally Carter

This one may not be great literature but it was light and funny and I read it when I really needed that. 

When Among Crows - Veronica Roth

A very interesting urban fantasy. It’s a novella with a completely fleshed out world and I would love to read more of. 

The Toll-Gate - Georgette Heyer

Another really fun book. I’ve already re-read it as well. 

The Spellshop - Sarah Beth Durst

Cozy, low angst and just a feel good book all the way around. It has cottages, mer-people, unicorns and magic in it. 

One Dark Window, Two Twisted Crowns - Rachel Gillig

I don’t follow booktok and generally stay away from books hyped that way, but saw them on GR and downloaded them from Kindle Unlimited and read them on vacation. Not without flaws, but I haven’t been so sucked into a fantasy for a long time. 

The Witchwood Knot - Olivia Atwater

A delicious dark fairy tale. I read 2 of Atwater’s fairy tales this year and can’t wait for more. 

Life on Svalbard - Cecilia Blomdahl

This one is such a fun look at life in a small remote northern city. The pictures are fantastic and you can tell the author really loves it there. Makes me want to pack up my life and move there as well….or at least travel somewhere fun. 

Full Speed to a Crash Landing - Beth Revis

I do love a good space romp and this one delivered. I’m making myself borrow the series from the library, but I may cave and buy them when book 3 comes out next year.

I’ve decided to have fun with my reading goal for 2025. I have 8 bookshelves in my library and on every single one of them I see books I haven’t read. So the goal is to pick a book I haven’t read from every bookshelf. If I get really ambitious, I’m going to try for every single shelf on the 8, but we’ll see. There are actually individual shelves where I have read all the books. LOL